EMMA RADUCANU
wins the UK’s heart as she serves up a tremendous debut at Wimbledon
Royals and A-list stars including Princess Beatrice, the Countess of Wessex and Mike and Zara Tindall headed to Wimbledon last week, but it was teenager Emma Raducanu who stole the headlines.
An unknown wildcard, the 18-yearold tennis player emerged as Britain’s latest sporting success story after three victories at the tournament – all while waiting for her A-level results.
Emma wowed the crowds as the youngest British female player to make it to the second week of the championships since Christine Truman in 1959, before being advised to withdraw after falling ill.
But while fans were left lamenting her exit, they were delighted to see parents-to-be Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi enjoying a day out at the tournament.
They were joined in the royal box by Beatrice’s aunt, Sophie, with the two women sporting matching dotty outfits – the Princess covering her bump in a Self-Portrait midi dress and the Countess in pleated Me+Em.
Pixie Lott, found herself with a dilemma when she attended Wimbledon the same day England met Denmark in the Euros.
“When you’re watching the tennis at 1 but it’s coming home at 8,” she wrote on Instagram, with a photo of her red and white Philosophy dress.
This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby, however, had her mind focused on SW19 and one particular Wimbledon tradition. “Dreamy day at [ Wimbledon],” she wrote. “Strawberries and cream were seriously harmed in the process.”
RISING STAR
After her incredible debut in the senior championships, it looks likely that next year, it will be Emma whom the stars will be cheering.
She has already won the support of sports heroes including England footballer Marcus Rashford and athlete Dina Asher- Smith, who tweeted: “We are all so proud of you.”
The Olympics- bound sprinter added: “As pro athletes we need to listen to our bodies and I’m glad that you did what’s best for yours. Congratulations and can’t wait to see what the future holds for you.”
After earning £181,000 from the tournament, Emma could now see her future filled with lucrative sponsorships and deals.
‘Wimbledon is where great heroes emerge and that’s what we’re seeing with Emma right now’
‘When you’re watching tennis at 1 but it’s coming home at 8’
‘Dreamy day… Strawberries and cream were seriously harmed in the process’ Holly Willoughby
“Wimbledon is a competition where great heroes emerge and that’s exactly what we’re seeing with Emma right now,” PR guru Alan Edwards, who once represented tennis ace Novak Djokovic, tells hello!.
“She has a really bright future ahead of her. Given what she’s already achieved on the court and the mark she’s made on the public consciousness, I think there’ll be all kinds of interesting opportunities coming her way.
“Tennis is in the top ten richest sports in the world so the rewards are enormous. When you analyse Emma’s earning power, the sky’s the limit – as long as rain doesn’t stop play!”
Born in Canada to Romanian father Ian and Chinese mother Renee, Emma moved to the UK when she was two and started playing tennis three years later to overcome her shyness.
She won her first International Tennis Federation title aged 12 and went on to make the Wimbledon junior quarter-finals in 2018.
Now she looks set to be the UK’s next top tennis player – and fans are cheering her on. Her time at Wimbledon was “surreal”, she said, and she loved every minute, adding: “I feel like I’m on holiday.”
l The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club’s president the Duke of Kent has stepped down after over 50 years. He has presented the winner’s trophy more than 350 times.